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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Diokno renews push for AI legal framework; eyes workers' protection

Diokno renews push for AI legal framework; eyes workers' protection

Published Aug 7, 2026 04:46 pm

At A Glance

  • Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno files House Bill No. 10362, the proposed AI Governance Act, to establish a national framework for responsible AI use and worker protection.
  • The bill creates an AI Bill of Rights, mandates transparency, safeguards privacy, prohibits discriminatory AI decisions, and requires environmental compliance from AI facilities.
  • It establishes a multi-stakeholder advisory council and imposes penalties for unlawful AI use, aiming to balance innovation with regulation while protecting jobs and public welfare.
AI (left), Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno (Unsplash, Facebook)
AI (left), Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno (Unsplash, Facebook)


Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno has resparked efforts in the House of Representatives to institutionalize an artificial intelligence (AI) governance framework by filing a related bill to start the second regular session.
Diokno introduced House Bill (HB) No. 10362 or the proposed AI Governance Act, along with fellow Akbayan Party-list Reps. Perci Cendaña and Dadah Ismula, and Dinagat Islands lone district Rep. Kaka Bag-ao.
The bill aims to promote the responsible use of AI and protect the rights and welfare of workers and Filipinos, through the creation of a comprehensive AI law.
"At present, there is no unified national framework that establishes safeguards against harmful AI systems, protects workers from AI-driven displacement, guarantees transparency in automated decision-making, promotes AI literacy, establishes accountability standards, or creates institutional mechanisms for AI governance," Diokno said in justifying HB No. 10362.
"While we have the Data Privacy Act of 2012, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and the Philippine Innovation Act, they only address certain AI-related issues and do not provide a complete framework for AI governance," added the lawyer-legislator of the 20th Congress.
Citing the Philippine AI Report 2025, Diokno said more than 92 percent of surveyed Philippine organizations have adopted AI in some capacity, while 54 percent have already used generative AI tools for over a year.
The bill seeks to cushion the impact of AI on jobs by providing affected workers with reskilling and upskilling opportunities, workforce redeployment, labor market transition support, and social protection.
It also ensures meaningful worker participation in decisions involving the adoption of AI.
Employers introducing high-impact AI systems are required to give affected employees and their representatives at least six months' advance notice before deployment.
The notice must describe the purpose and scope of the AI system, the affected business processes or job functions, and the expected impact on work assignments.
They are prohibited from relying solely on AI-generated outputs to evaluate employee performance or discipline workers without meaningful human review, or from using AI to circumvent labor laws, particularly concerning security of tenure, minimum wage, employee benefits, and workers’ right to self-organization.
AI Bill of Rights
The measure also establishes an Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights to protect Filipinos by ensuring transparency in the use of high-impact AI systems, safeguarding privacy and personal data, including the right to be forgotten, protecting people from discriminatory AI decisions, and providing other safeguards against the misuse of AI.
It also requires data center and AI facility operators to comply with environmental assessment and ECC requirements, consult affected communities, disclose annual energy and water consumption and sustainability plans, and comply with AI infrastructure standards set by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Department of Energy (DOE).
The proposed legislation creates an Artificial Intelligence Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Council composed of representatives from government, academe, labor, civil society, media, youth organizations, and the technology sector to help guide the country's national AI policy.
The measure also imposes penalties for the unlawful use of AI, with violators facing imprisonment of six months to six years, depending on the offense, while public officials may be disqualified from holding public office.
"Innovation and regulation must go hand in hand. We must put clear rules in place today if we want to protect the rights and welfare of the people while harnessing the benefits of AI," Diokno emphasized.

Related Tags

ARTICIFIAL INTELLIGENCE Chel Diokno Akbayan Party-list House of Representatives
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